Pepper Ann's Wild Weekend
by sevens1997
Summary: Pepper Ann thinks she has it made for the weekend. Her hopes are quickly shot down, but she restores them herself.
1. Chapter 1: Friday

Chapter 1: Friday  
  
The date was Friday, March 29. Sitting in Sherman Finky's class, Pepper Ann Pearson is anxiously awaiting three o'clock. She looks at the clock. Two fifty-five. She can't wait to get this weekend started, for she has a feeling that it will be unlike any weekend she has ever experienced. However, her hopes are quickly dashed.  
  
"OK, class, before I let you go for the weekend, I have a new project for you." Everyone in the class groaned in unison. "Come on, guys. I haven't even told you what it is yet." The class decides that they should hear him out before they pass judgment. "I want you to write a five-page explanation of the workings of the universe. You will also need visual aids. Go into as much detail as possible. You have until Monday to complete this assignment." The class groans again, though whether it's because of the assignment or the fact that they have to spend the weekend on it is unclear.  
  
Nicky Anais Little, being the genius that she is, completed the assignment in about two hours. Milo Kamalani, philosopher extraordinaire, took three hours to finish his. However, Pepper Ann had no idea where to start. She decided that since she had all weekend, she could afford to sleep on it, so she did just that: sleep. 


	2. Chapter 2: Saturday

Chapter 2: Saturday  
  
Pepper Ann woke up at nine o'clock the next morning and was excited about the weekend. However, she was struck with a dire warning.  
  
"Ah, the weekend. Twenty-four hours of pure, unmitigated freedom." Then she looked in the mirror. Her reflection was staring her square in the eye.  
  
"Hold it right there, sister. Is your short-term memory that bad? That project is going to be a royal pain, and at this rate, you'll need all weekend to finish it." Pepper Ann couldn't believe the audacity of her own conscience.  
  
"Have you been sniffing glue in art class again? I hardly need the whole weekend. I'll do it Sunday night. Now, please, do me a favor and go take a long walk off a short pier."  
  
"I might as well talk to a brick wall."  
  
"Yeah, you don't have to worry about a brick wall talking back. Now buzz off."  
  
Needless to say, her conscience is somewhat annoyed. "As usual, talking is useless, so I guess you'll have to learn the hard way.again. Don't say I didn't warn you." At that, there came a knock at the door. Seconds later, Pepper Ann's mother, Lydia, walked in.  
  
"Peppie! Milo and Nicky have been waiting here for half an hour! What on earth are you doing in there?"  
  
"Just a minute, Mom!" Pepper Ann went outside to greet her two best friends. "Sorry I took so long. Had another one of my good/evil debates. As usual, good hardly put up a fight. So, who's up for Greezy and Cheezy?"  
  
Almost simultaneously, Milo and Nicky said, "I am."  
  
After placing their order, the three friends started their own debate. Milo got it started. "So, have you finished your project, PA?"  
  
"Finished? I haven't even started yet."  
  
At this point, Nicky could no longer contain herself. "Pepper Ann, you have got to stop this procrastination. Need I remind you that this project is due on Monday? You know how insane Mr. Finky's projects can be."  
  
"Great, a reminder I don't need giving me information I don't want to hear. If this project is so 'insane,' why aren't you two working on it?"  
  
"We've both finished it. Nicky's amazing. She'll get an A for sure. I just put together a bunch of gibberish that Finky's sure to buy." After a pause, Milo continued. "I really think you should get started now, PA. Remember what happened the last time you turned in an incomplete project?"  
  
"Come on, Milo. It's not like it killed me to spend the night in detention hall, and what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? I mean, my mom got a little worried, but that was about it."  
  
"Pepper Ann, you yourself told me that you nearly blacked out while writing 'I will be a more conscientious student in the future.' on the blackboard a thousand times. No, it didn't kill you, but next time, it just might."  
  
"I think you're overdramatizing this just a bit, Nicky. Besides, if my own conscience couldn't get me to start it, you guys don't stand a chance." Dismayed at their friend's stubbornness, Nicky and Milo sigh simultaneously. An hour later, Pepper Ann and Nicky excused themselves. "Nicky and I will be waiting outside, Milo. Just take your time."  
  
Milo, who had perhaps not been listening, said, "OK." Then it dawned on him. "Hey! Wait a minute!" It was too late. Pepper Ann and Nicky were already out the door, and Milo was stuck with the check again.  
  
At one o'clock, Pepper Ann and Milo met at Brain Dead. "Hey, Milo, where's Nicky?"  
  
"She went home to refine her violin skills. You know how she's been bent on playing the Realto her entire life? Well, she decided that instead of getting mad over the fact that you were invited there because of a keyboard that shows you what notes to play, she would be better served to work all that much harder to make it there. She's thankful that you gave her credit for being the real musician in this bunch, but all the same, she wants to do more than play second fiddle. No pun intended, of course. Six hours every Saturday. Anyway, she told me she would be available around eight. In the meantime, how about we crunch some pods?"  
  
When they were out of quarters, Milo said, "I gotta go. I should be free later tonight. See you, PA."  
  
"Later." When she got home, she looked at the clock. Four-twenty. At eight-thirty, the phone rang. Pepper Ann picked it up. "Hello?"  
  
It was Nicky. "I'm afraid I can't make it tonight, Pepper Ann. Stewart and I have a date. One of those impromptu things. You know how it is."  
  
"Oh. OK. I'll be seeing you, then." Immediately after she hung up, the phone rang again. "Hello?"  
  
This time, it was Milo. "I have a great idea for my next masterpiece, PA, but I'll have to spend the night kindling my creative fire. I have to make sure it's just right. Hope you understand."  
  
Pepper Ann was a bit taken aback by this news. "Oh. Yeah. Sure. See you, then." Seeing that she had nothing more to do besides her project, which her conscience is desperately trying to get her to start, she turns in for the night. "There's always tomorrow," she reasons. 


	3. Chapter 3: Sunday

Chapter 3: Sunday  
  
The next morning, Pepper Ann woke up and was greeted by her reflection again. "You really should get started on your project, you know. Time's a-wasting."  
  
Pepper Ann responded by covering her mirror with her blanket. "Out of sight, out of mind, that's what I say. Let's see, Crunch Pod? Nah, I did that yesterday. Go to Nicky's? Nah, if she were free, she would have knocked on my door by now. Milo? No, he might not take kindly to being interrupted while he's creating. Work on my project?"  
  
Upon hearing this, her conscience shows itself in the Fuzzy poster on the wall. "YES! You finally got it! Now get cracking!"  
  
"OK, OK. It's not like I have anything more interesting to do." She got a pen and paper and tried to think, but at that moment, there was a knock at the door. "Now who could that be?" She opened the door and was immediately rendered speechless with her mouth hanging open and her eyes bugging out. There, not two feet away, stood Craig Bean.  
  
"Hey, Pearson, got a minute?"  
  
Unable to say anything, Pepper Ann simply gave Craig the thumbs up.  
  
"Great. Listen, my band and I are playing at Java Nutt today at four. I know you've done this before, but I want you to be there. Only this time, I want you to be my personal escort. Can you be there by three-thirty?"  
  
Pepper Ann, still unable to speak, sticks her thumb in the air again, signaling to Craig that she's up for it.  
  
"Excellent, see you there. Oh, one more thing. Try to stick around for the whole show this time." Craig winked at Pepper Ann to let her know that his last comment was all in good fun.  
  
Once the door closed and Craig left, Pepper Ann snapped out of her trance, though it took a while. "What was I going to do? Oh, forget it. Is it three-thirty yet?"  
  
Her conscience was appalled. "Ugh, so close, and yet so far. Do I have to tattoo it on your forehead? PROJECT, PROJECT, PROJECT! I swear, you would lose your head if it wasn't attached."  
  
"Oh, that's right. My project. It's only nine-thirty. I still have six hours. By the way, don't swear. It's not nice." Pepper Ann grabbed her pen and paper and tried to think, but couldn't, for obvious reasons.  
  
"Now what?"  
  
"You just don't get it, do you? It's CRAIG BEAN! It's the chance of a lifetime, and you want me to throw it away for some lousy project? Well, go jump in the lake, pal!" Pepper Ann daydreamed for the next five hours, then looked at the clock. Three-fifteen. She rushed to Java Nutt and met Craig out front. When he spotted her, he smiled. At four, Craig and his band took the stage, and Craig asked her to join them. She did so, thinking she would be crazy to refuse. That was when Craig got the ball rolling.  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me to introduce to you my guest for this afternoon, Miss Pepper Ann Pearson." The audience applauded, at which point Pepper Ann blushed, then realized that she was getting the recognition she's wanted her whole life and took a bow. It was the usual Craig Bean concert, with many instruments and few words. After the show, Craig caught up with her. "PA, there's something I want to talk to you about."  
  
Pepper Ann had never been so surprised about anything in her life. Only Milo calls her PA. Mr. Finky did once, but that was isolated. She wondered if this might be a sign. Then she realized that she had better say something, lest Craig think she was just leading him on. "Yes, Craig?"  
  
"I think you're really cool, and I was wondering if we could start 'going together,' so to speak." Pepper Ann was even more astonished than before. This was the coolest kid in school, and an eighth grader to boot. After recovering from her initial shock, she replied.  
  
"You know, I never had the guts to ask you that, so I've been waiting seven years for you to ask me. I suppose you've figured out that my answer is yes."  
  
"Great!" At that, he have her a kiss on the cheek. It took all of her strength, but she managed to maintain her composure and stop herself from fainting. When she got home, she realized that the afternoon had taken its toll on her and started to doze off. Just as she started to get comfortable, the phone rang.  
  
"Hello?" It was Nicky.  
  
"Pepper Ann, have you finished your project yet?"  
  
"Of course I have."  
  
Skeptically, Nicky said, "Really?"  
  
Ashamed, Pepper Ann said, "No."  
  
"Good grief, it's eight o'clock! You have a total of twelve hours to put together your entire project! I know you're Hazelnut's answer to Harry Houdini, but you can't possibly escape this one!"  
  
"Don't worry about me. Just make sure your project is done right."  
  
With resignation, Nicky said, "OK, it's your funeral. If you're not going to listen, my talking is pointless." With that, Nicky hung up the phone. Pepper Ann set the alarm and tried to start her project, but couldn't keep her eyes open. Eventually, she fell asleep. 


	4. Chapter 4: Monday

Chapter 4: Monday  
  
Pepper Ann's alarm went off at eight o'clock the next morning. She got out of bed and headed for school. As usual, she was late, having stopped at Brain Dead and taken the long way to school. Not only did she get the usual detention slip for being late, she had to turn in a project she hadn't even started yet. At this point, she began to panic, but she was in for a surprise when she walked into Mr. Finky's class.  
  
"Today is the due date for your projects, class, but before you hand them in, I have something to hand in to you. Take one and pass them back. Please keep them face down until I give you the signal." There was a short pause. "Now!"  
  
Pepper Ann turned over her paper, and all she saw were the words 'APRIL FOOL!' "What the Fuzzy?"  
  
After laughing uncontrollably for a few minutes, Mr. Finky explained the whole deal. "If you look at the calendar, you will see that today is April 1, commonly called April Fool's Day. This brings me to your project. There was no project! It was the biggest gag in Hazelnut Middle School history! Now, I repeat: APRIL FOOL!"  
  
Milo, quite unmoved by the news, said, "Oh. All right."  
  
Nicky was not so relenting. "WHAT? I spent two hours of my life on this infernal project, and now you're telling me it was all a joke?" Milo tried to console her, and was rewarded with an angry glare. Nicky eventually cooled down.  
  
Pepper Ann just fainted. After waking up, she found herself in the nurse's office, with Milo by her side. "Ugh. Milo? What happened?"  
  
"You fainted. It's a shame, too, because Nicky really blew a gasket. She's talking to Finky about it in the most mature way she can. She recovered from her fit surprisingly well, but I suggest not talking to her about it for a while." About a minute later, Nicky walked in.  
  
"That was a cruel joke, and I let Mr. Finky know it. I'm fine now. I just keep telling myself that it wasn't the entire weekend that was wasted, just two hours. Plus, I learned a lot about myself, so I guess this whole deal was worth it after all."  
  
After hearing what happened, Craig walked in with a concerned look on his face. "PA, are you all right?"  
  
"Yeah, just a little woozy."  
  
"Good. In that case, what do you say to Freezy Pleezy? My treat."  
  
"You're on." Hand in hand, Pepper Ann and Craig walked out, signaling the beginning of a wonderful relationship. 


End file.
